The Gift

Disclaimer:  I do not own either of the Mission: Impossible series or any of the characters therein.  I receive no compensation or any other tangible benefit from this story.  I am just a fan who enjoys taking the team out for an adventure every now and then.  🙂

Summary:  Nicholas' chance encounter with his mysterious neighbor leads the team to shut down a research lab with nefarious intentions.  (It didn't start out mission-focused but the gang insisted on taking it there. 🙂)

WARNING:  This story is about an empath, who may or may not exhibit some qualities that some may view as fanciful or impossible.  There are people who prefer not to read stories like this.  If that is you, please do not read any further.  See my author's note for more details.

*******

Chapter 1

It was an ordinary September day.

Nicholas Black was sitting in his favorite recliner, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper, grateful for the unhurried pace of the morning after having just spent five hectic days on a mission in Europe.

As he turned the page, he happened to glance up, then stopped short as a flash of movement from outside the apartment caught his eye. He laid the newspaper to the side, took off his reading glasses, and walked slowly to the living room window.

A dark-haired woman in her mid-thirties that he had never seen before was standing near a black sedan with its hood raised and the driver's side door open. As Nicholas watched, she walked around the car a handful of times, stopping occasionally to crouch down as if she was trying to look underneath it.

An irresistible compulsion that Nicholas blamed on curiosity pulled him toward the front door, where he slipped on his shoes and a light jacket and ventured outside to approach the stranger.

"Is everything all right, miss?" he asked by way of greeting.

The woman looked up at Nicholas, a frazzled look on her face. "Yes…no…" she said haltingly, a slight tremor in her voice. Then, quickly, as if she'd just thought of it, she added, "Would you care to do me a favor?"

"What is it?" he asked, surprised.

"Would you check my car to see if there's anything there that shouldn't be?" Nicholas raised an eyebrow. "I'll explain later."

Nicholas almost declined her request. This is crazy, he thought to himself. And besides that, what do I know about cars? But there was something about the mysterious woman that drew him in and made it impossible for him not to help her.

The dark-haired agent stepped closer as his companion moved out of his way. He looked carefully under the hood, but could see nothing that didn't look like it belonged there.

"Everything looks okay there," he reported. "Let me check underneath."

Nicholas first crouched, then lay, on the hard pavement. He peered up at the undercarriage of the black sedan, not expecting to find anything. But suddenly, something caught his eye, and he sucked in his breath sharply.

A small aerosol canister was zip-tied to the drive axle. Fastened to it was a tiny square display screen, with wires running out from it that Nicholas traced with his eyes to the general area of the steering column — and, presumably, the starter.

The woman, having heard Nicholas gasp, quickly crouched down beside him. "Did you find something?"

Nicholas remained silent until he got back to his feet. His expression was serious. "You need to call the police," he warned. "There's definitely something there."

The brunette bit her lip. "Can I use your phone?" she asked timidly. "I don't really want to go back inside my own place right now." She stared at his piercing brown eyes, the smallest hint of a smile touching her lips. "Besides, I owe you an explanation anyway."

"Of course," Nicholas replied, casually laying a hand on her back and guiding her inside his apartment.

********

Nicholas handed her the phone, then stood by in silence and allowed her to place a call to the local sheriff's office. He heard her identify herself as Diana McKay, the sole resident of apartment number thirty-two, next door to his own apartment number thirty-three. At one point, the officer on the other end of the phone must have asked for details about what was found underneath her vehicle, so she handed the phone to Nicholas and he filled in the gaps. Afterward, he said that someone would be out shortly to investigate.

"Do you mind if I call my work?" she asked timidly, once that connection was broken.

"Not at all," Nicholas responded kindly. He didn't want it to seem like he was trying to eavesdrop on her conversation, so he turned and walked toward the kitchen. After a few moments, she joined him, smiling at the scent of freshly-perked coffee which was now filling up the room.

"I took half a day's leave," she reported. "I need to try to get to work this afternoon."

Nicholas nodded. "Can I make you some coffee, Miss McKay?" he asked softly.

A smile spread across her face and touched her emerald green eyes, prompting them to twinkle slightly. "It's Diana," she answered warmly.

"Nicholas," the dark-haired agent reciprocated.

"It's nice to meet you, Nicholas," Diana smiled, with a warm handshake, "and thank you, I'd love some coffee. Cream, no sugar, please," she added, anticipating his question before he could ask it, and following him to the kitchen.

Nicholas extended his left hand forward, an unspoken invitation for Diana to take a seat at the table, and with his right he handed her the steaming mug. Diana sat down, then accepted it gratefully in both her hands, blowing once across the top before taking a careful sip.

"Thank you, for the coffee and also for helping me," she smiled again. "And now I suppose you'd like that explanation."

But before Nicholas could reply, his keen ears picked up the telltale sound of a vehicle turning into the parking lot. He held up his palm and looked out the living room window.

"The police are here," he announced.

"That was fast," she observed.

Nicholas and Diana went outside to meet the two officers. Nicholas' face lit up as he recognized one of them.

"Officer Spencer!" he exclaimed. Though the officer was a personal friend of his, Nicholas purposely refrained from using the his first name in a gesture of respect, since Diana was present.

"Hello, Nicholas!" Todd Spencer returned, grasping the agent's hand in a firm shake. "Good to see you again. How have you been? How's Grant doing, and your other friends?"

"We're all fine," Nicholas replied. "This is Diana McKay. She's my neighbor, and the owner of the car." As the officer reached out to shake hands, Nicholas added, by way of explanation, "Officer Spencer and I have worked together before."

The officer nodded and introduced his female partner. "This is Officer Sullivan." More handshakes were exchanged, and then they walked over to Diana's car, where Nicholas showed them the device he had located. The officers took several photos, then the four of them went inside Nicholas' apartment and sat down at Nicholas' kitchen table to continue the interview.

"So, Miss McKay," Spencer began, "what happened that caused you to suspect that there might be a device on your vehicle?"

"I don't want to make any false accusations," she said quietly, looking down at her hands clasped in her lap.

"Any information you have could be helpful," his partner encouraged.

Diana sighed heavily. "I work at the local hospital," she advised. "There's an electrician there — a contract worker. I don't know his name. He's approached me a number of times, trying to get me to go out with him, but I'm not interested. He creeps me out."

Diana shuddered slightly, and Nicholas found himself reaching out to grasp her hand in silent support.

"And you think he'd do something like this?" Spencer asked, with a skepticism in his voice that made Nicholas cringe internally.

"Two days ago, when I told him no, he said something to me," she answered. "He said, 'Sooner or later, I'll get what I want.' Not enough to take as a direct threat, but enough that I've had security walk me out to my car."

Spencer nodded. "We'll see what we can find out. In the meantime, we're gonna impound your car so we can run some tests on this device before it hurts anyone."

Diana nodded and walked outside to retrieve the few personal items she had in her vehicle. Then she and Nicholas bid goodbye to the two officers and returned to Nicholas' apartment.

"Nicholas," Diana remarked with a breeziness in her voice that she did not feel as she reached out to shake his hand again, "thank you for all of your help today. I guess I'll leave you alone now and let you get back to your life."

"I'd rather you tell me what's really going on," the dark-haired agent said quietly, holding fast to her hand.

He knows. Of course he knows.

She knew he had the gift of perception — she'd sensed it from the moment she'd felt his touch — and if anyone was going to understand the truth, it was him. Still, she hesitated.

"What do you mean?" she asked, feigning ignorance, all the while knowing Nicholas wasn't going to fall for it.

"I think there's more to the story than what you told the officers," Nicholas explained, "and I'd like to know the truth." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "It's okay, Diana. I just want to help."

The request was sincere — Diana knew it instinctively, based on who she already knew Nicholas to be, and the purity of his heart was palpable in the softness and warmth of his touch. She knew beyond a doubt that he was someone she could trust. She smiled slightly.

"Before I tell you the whole story," she advised, "there's something you need to know about me."

Nicholas let go of Diana's hand and walked over to the living room sofa, patting the seat beside him in an overt invitation for her to make herself comfortable. She sat down, took a deep breath, and began to speak.

Chapter 2

"I'm an empath," she announced, in a voice that was barely above a whisper, as if an increase in volume would also increase the likelihood that he would react negatively to the revelation.

Nicholas remained poker-faced, stoic, quiet, and she studied his features, trying to discern the thought behind them.

Was this a negative reaction? He wasn't frowning, exactly. His eyebrow was furrowed a little — that could be a sign of a negative reaction, or it could be surprise, or confusion. She wasn't picking up on any negativity from him. But then again, she didn't know how good he might be at masking the gift she already suspected he had within him.

If he would just say something! she thought. I'm an empath, not a mind reader, for heaven's sake!

Finally, she could stand it no longer. She lowered her eyes.

"You don't believe me," she said, using the same stage whisper as before.

Nicholas let out a nervous little chuckle. "I didn't say that," he responded, mildly defensive and matching her tone. "I just…forgive me, I don't quite understand what that means. I mean, I know what empathy is."

She laughed to herself. Most people don't really know what empathy is, much less what an empath does. Although she had the nagging feeling that Nicholas was different, she couldn't resist finding out.

She allowed the smallest of smiles to cross her lips. "Why don't you tell me what your definition of empathy is, and I'll tell you how it fits with who I am," she suggested gently, not wishing to increase his defensiveness by being confrontational or turning the question into a test that he was expected to pass or fail.

Nicholas nodded slightly. "I see empathy as the ability to walk in someone else's shoes, to see things from their point of view." He paused, his brown eyes meeting her emerald green ones with palpable intensity. "To gauge the atmosphere in a room or pick up on how someone is feeling."

Diana nodded. "That's a pretty good description for cognitive empathy," she told him, "but it barely scratches the surface of what it means to be an empath."

Nicholas cautiously reached out and grasped Diana's hand. "So fill in the gaps for me."

As before, she felt his warmth and knew that the request was genuine. He believed her, and he meant her no harm. He merely wanted to understand.

"Not only do I pick up on other people's emotions and energy, but I actually feel them." Diana lowered her eyes again. "It's been that way since I was a child, but I'm still learning how to filter things. Sometimes, I have trouble separating what belongs to me from what belongs to someone else."

Nicholas felt his stomach lurch at the thought. "That sounds exhausting," he said supportively.

"It can be," she admitted.

There was a long pause, then Nicholas squeezed Diana's hand in gentle encouragement.

"Go on."

Diana smiled slightly. "You are very perceptive."

"So I'm told."

Nicholas' own smile was wide and disarming; even so, Diana sighed heavily. This part is always the hardest to explain — and believe.

"I am also a healer," she said quietly. "If someone is suffering, I can help stabilize them by absorbing some of their pain into my own body."

Nicholas, still holding Diana's hand, gazed at her with a look that was somewhere between disbelief and fascination. "How does that even work?" he asked.

"I don't know," she confessed. "I only realized I could do it a couple of weeks ago." Then, as Nicholas watched, a single tear rolled down the left side of her face. "And that's when all of this started."

Nicholas nodded encouragingly, and Diana paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

"Like I said, I work at the local hospital, but I'm not a nurse." A pause. "I'm a therapist."

A look of understanding crossed the dark-haired agent's face. "A challenging vocation for someone with your gift, I imagine."

You have no idea, Diana thought, but as she considered the idea she sensed that Nicholas really did understand, in his own way. So she simply nodded, and continued.

"Sometimes we are asked to go to the emergency department and sit with a patient who's having a mental health crisis or at risk of harming themselves," she explained. "On this day, I was sitting with a young lady in her early twenties. She was anxious and scared and had a big gash on her left wrist where she'd sliced it open. They were getting ready to suture it."

Diana could feel the empathy seeping through Nicholas' pores even though the two were no longer touching.

"I asked if I could hold her right hand," she went on. "I knew what would happen. I knew that my heart rate would increase as hers began to decrease, that my breathing would become more shallow even as hers evened out. I'm usually pretty good at masking my autonomic responses, and the patient's improvement is generally chalked up to emergency medications and the feeling of safety."

Diana's voice dropped in pitch. "What I didn't expect was the sudden, stabbing pain that went through my left wrist, to the point where I almost had to let go of her hand. And a few seconds later, when she told me her pain was gone. By the time the doctor came back into the room, the bleeding had stopped to the point where she left with a bandage instead of sutures and the doctor was left trying to figure out how it had healed so quickly."

Nicholas' expression was that of complete fascination. "And this was the first time you'd experienced something like that?" At Diana's nod, he continued. "Did anyone else besides you and the girl see what happened?"

"Well, none of the medical staff witnessed it," Diana answered, and her voice held a bit of a tremble that Nicholas picked up on, "but I was being watched."

Suddenly, Nicholas put the pieces together. "The contract worker," he said knowingly. It wasn't a question.

Diana nodded again. "He was working on some circuitry in the room across from where we were," she explained. "I was so blindsided by the pain I was picking up from her that I didn't pay attention, but he must have seen the whole thing. As soon as the girl was transferred out, I started back to my office and he accosted me in the hallway, demanding to know what did I do and how did I do it and threatening to tell the higher-ups if I didn't agree to let him 'study' my brain."

Nicholas reached for Diana's hand again. "He does sound like a creep," he muttered.

"I told him, 'go ahead,' because I figured they'd all think he was crazy anyway," she continued. "I don't think he's done that, but he hasn't given up, either. He's figured out where my office is, he knows my car, and I'm fairly certain he's followed me home a time or two. He's always coming up to me in the hallway, making some kind of disturbing comment."

"He's escalating," Nicholas theorized, in a tone that was both a statement and a question.

"Yes, I think so," Diana agreed.

"And what you told the police, where he said that sooner or later, he'd get what he wanted," Nicholas recalled, his voice soft, "that really happened, didn't it?"

Diana nodded slowly. "Two days ago."

"Well, someone who knows about circuitry would probably know a thing or two about installing the type of device I saw on your undercarriage," Nicholas mused. Then he suddenly remembered something.

"Diana," he said, squeezing her hand, "I know you didn't want to go back to your apartment this morning, after we found the device. Has he been here, too?"

"I haven't seen him, specifically," she informed him, "but his uniform is the same as the people I've seen working here."

"So we can't rule out that he might have had access to your apartment," Nicholas reasoned.

"Which means I have to find somewhere to stay until the police get finished investigating, however long that might take," Diana said sadly, as she let go of his hand and stood up. She walked to the living room window and looked outside, where her sedan was being pulled onto the back of a tow truck.

"You can stay here," Nicholas found himself offering, the words out of his mouth practically before he realized what he was saying. "I have a guest room."

Immediately, Diana turned around to face him and shook her head. "Oh, I couldn't do that, Nicholas," she declined politely. "Besides, what would your lady friend say?"

Nicholas' face flushed slightly at Diana's passing reference to Keisha, whom he sometimes dated when not off running missions. But wait a minute! "How did you….?" he said aloud, then stopped himself. She's an empath, after all. "Never mind," he grinned, then his face sobered. "But the offer stands."

"We just met this morning, Nicholas. You don't even know me."

Nicholas pondered this for a moment. Diana was right — he hardly knew her, even after all the things he had found out about her over the last few moments. Still, whatever mysterious force had compelled him to help her this morning was still heavily at play. He could feel it. Not desire. Not romance. Just the sense that the two of them were connected at a level so deep that it defied explanation.

He walked over to where she was now standing and laid a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe not," he conceded, his voice gentle, "but for some reason I've felt drawn to you since the moment I saw you, and I think you feel the same way." Diana nodded, almost imperceptibly. "Please, Diana. Let me help you."

The brunette sighed softly. She knew exactly why Nicholas felt so drawn to her, but she couldn't tell him yet. She had to make sure he was ready to hear it — though something told her that deep down, he already knew.

"You know it might be months before we get any answers, " she said aloud.

Nicholas' gaze was pensive. "I have some friends who might be able to help us," he replied. "Let me talk to them."

Diana stared at her feet. "I'd rather you didn't tell them……everything," she said quietly.

Nicholas turned his head sideways and raised an eyebrow, in an unspoken request for clarification.

"The gifts of an empath can be difficult for others to understand," she continued. "I don't let many people in."

"You didn't have much trouble letting me in," Nicholas reminded her gently.

"You're different." Diana's emerald eyes were piercing. "And I think you know that."

Nicholas ignored the chill that crept up his spine. "You're asking me to lie to my friends," he said in a half-whisper. "That feels wrong."

"Many people reject empaths, and all who associate with them," she countered defensively. "I wouldn't want your friends to think less of you."

"They wouldn't."

It was Nicholas' turn to be defensive, and Diana felt it. But there was something else — a warmth that burned in the very depths of his being. And she recognized the source.

"You trust them," came the quiet declaration.

"With my life," he confirmed, in the same tone.

Diana sighed. "If you really think they can help me, then I suggest a compromise," she offered. "Tell them the story I told the officers. For now, not forever. If your friends are as you've said, they will know the truth in time."

*******

As midday approached, Nicholas and Diana enjoyed a simple lunch of sandwiches and iced tea. Diana stood up to put her plate away.

"I guess I should call a cab to take me to work," she noted, "since the police have my car."

"Nonsense! I'll drive you," Nicholas offered.

"Haven't I imposed enough?"

"It's my pleasure," Nicholas assured her. "Besides, maybe I'll even catch a glimpse of Mister Contract Worker."

Just as the words escaped his lips, Diana's face turned pale. She closed her eyes and brought a hand to her forehead.

Instantly, Nicholas laid a gentle hand on her back. "Are you all right?" he asked quickly, his eyes sparkling with worry. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's fine," she answered, holding up a hand dismissively. "It's just….the thought of seeing him again makes me very anxious." She opened her eyes and looked at her new friend, and her heart warmed at the genuine concern she saw looking back at her. She smiled slightly. "I guess I'm a little dysregulated right now."

Nicholas' hand moved up to her shoulder, and he squeezed it gently. "Diana, we're going to figure out what this guy's game is, and stop him. That's a promise."

The brunette patted Nicholas' forearm in fond appreciation. "We'd better get going."

*******

A half hour later, Nicholas' black BMW pulled onto the hospital campus and drove around to the employee entrance at the back of the building. Diana smiled her thanks and started to get out of the building when her breath caught in her throat. Before Nicholas could ask her what was wrong, she pointed to a stocky figure wearing jeans, a light blue button-up shirt, and a baseball cap, standing with his back to them to the left side of the door.

"That's him," she whispered.

Nicholas opened his mouth to ask how she could tell, since he could see no identifying features, but then he closed it again because he knew.

She could feel it.

"Can I walk you inside?" he asked quietly.

"To a point," she answered, in the same tone. "The behavioral health floor is restricted to staff only."

Nicholas nodded. "Stay put," he ordered gently, then he got out of the vehicle and walked over to the passenger side. He opened the door and reached for Diana's hand. She hesitated slightly.

"It's okay," he assured her. "He won't try anything right now."

After taking a deep breath to compose herself, she allowed Nicholas to help her out of the car. He positioned himself on her left side as he walked her to the door, effectively creating a barrier between her and the mysterious man. Nicholas could feel the man's eyes on them as they disappeared inside, but he resisted the urge not to gaze back at him.

They entered the elevator and ascended to the fifth floor. When the door opened again, Nicholas could see that the entrance required authorized access.

"This is as far as you go, I'm afraid," Diana told him.

In response, Nicholas squeezed her hand. "Do your best to stay out of his way," he cautioned, his voice low. "Keep other people around you if you can. I'm going to go talk to my friends. I'll be back to pick you up at five."

So comforted was Diana by his presence that a part of her didn't want him to leave — just knowing he was close by somehow made her feel safer. At the same time, she knew that being her keeper wasn't his job, and that he had other important things to do.

So, with a cheerfulness she did not really feel, she smiled and sent him on his way. "Thank you for everything, Nicholas. I'll see you later."

Then she entered the restricted area and he took the elevator back to the main floor. As soon as he stepped off, he caught sight of the stocky contract worker, who was pretending to busy himself with a pedestal lamp and trying to look as if he wasn't staring.

I've got to get a look at that nameplate, Nicholas thought to himself, so he sat down in the nearby waiting area and reached for a magazine. After a few moments, the man received a call on his portable radio and then picked up his tools.

Nicholas' muscles tensed as he prepared to get up and follow the man to his next task, but in the next instant the man began walking toward him. The dark-haired agent remained poised to take whatever action was necessary, but he kept his eyes on his magazine until just the right moment. Then he looked up, and his eyes fixed on the gold nameplate.

Jeffrey Smith.

Nicholas cursed to himself. It was an ordinary sounding name, and it hadn't occurred to him until this moment that it might even be an alias. Still, it was something to go on, and maybe Grant could help connect the dots.

Nicholas put the magazine down and left the hospital, turning his BMW toward Grant's house.

Chapter 3

Nicholas parked his BMW on the right side of Grant's white Lexus, smiling to himself as he noticed the red Dodge Challenger parked on the left.

So Max is here, too. Good.

Nicholas knocked softly on the front door, but Max had already seen him pull in. A split second later the door opened.

"Hey, buddy," he greeted with a wide grin.

"Decided to have a party without me?" Nicholas teased, as he slapped Max's back fondly and reached over to grab Grant's outstretched hand.

"Nah, man, just hanging out, enjoying some downtime," Grant smiled.

"I did try to call you an hour ago to see if you wanted to join us," Max quipped. At Nicholas' raised eyebrow, he added, "No fooling. I guess you weren't home."

The dark-haired agent's expression changed slightly as he thought about how he'd spent the morning. Both Max and Grant detected the subtle shift.

"Something on your mind, pal?" Grant queried, his own face turning serious.

"That obvious, huh?"

"You know you can't hide anything from us, buddy. No use trying," Max agreed. "What's up?"

Nicholas sighed heavily. "I need your help with something, Grant," he began. "Off the record."

Grant frowned. Off the record meant Access mission resources for non-mission purposes, and don't tell Jim — something they had done a couple of times before and been threatened with sanctions from their team leader if they ever did so again.

"I don't know, Nicholas," Grant said with hesitation, shaking his head. "You know what Jim said last time."

"I know," Nicholas conceded, "but it's nothing major. Just looking up a name. We don't have to do anything with it. I just need to know who this person is, that's all."

"Do you mind if I ask why?"

"He's a contractor at the hospital where my neighbor works," Nicholas answered. "She says he keeps asking to go out with her, and she keeps refusing." A pause, and Nicholas' voice dropped in pitch. "This morning, we found a can of what looked like some kind of knockout gas, attached to her car and wired to the starter."

Max gazed at his teammate, incredulous. "And she thinks this guy put it there?"

"Maybe," the dark-haired agent shrugged. "We called the police, of course. Todd is working on it. But I would just like to know if this guy is a serial killer or something."

Grant mulled things over for a long moment, and then he nodded. "Just a name. That's it. If anything comes of it, we take it somewhere else."

"Deal."

Grant walked across the room and grabbed his laptop. It took a few moments for the tech genius to boot it up and get to the proper screen. Max and Nicholas flanked each shoulder, looking on.

"What's the name?"

"Jeffrey Smith."

Grant's fingers hovered, motionless, over the keyboard as he glared at Nicholas. "Seriously? You know that screams alias, right?"

"Just humor me."

It was Grant's turn to shrug as he typed the name into the IMF database, along with the appropriate search criteria based on Nicholas' information. Suddenly, he zoomed in on a photograph from the lower left corner of the search results.

"Is this the guy?" he asked in a half-whisper.

Nicholas looked at the photograph and his complexion went pale. The face of contract worker Jeffrey Smith was staring back at him — but in the photo, he was wearing a white lab coat.

"That's him," Nicholas confirmed, in the same tone. "Who is he?"

"Doctor Jeffrey Smith is a Ph.D. scientist and the founder of a clandestine organization called NeuroSystems," Grant answered. "Supposedly, he uses cutting-edge brain wave studies to research cures for chronic neurological conditions." Grant looked up at Nicholas. "But he's suspected of using his research for more nefarious purposes, which has put both him and the thinktank on an IMF watch list." A pause. "Doctor Smith's last known location was on the other side of the country."

"So what's he doing here in San Francisco posing as an electrical contractor?" Max wondered aloud.

Nicholas' head began to spin at the implications of what Grant had just discovered, and he suddenly felt unsteady on his feet. He quickly found a chair a few feet from Grant's desk and sat down, closing his eyes and touching his forehead with one hand.

Grant and Max each noticed his movements and turned to gaze at their friend, whose already-pale face had just gone ashen.

"Hey, Nicholas, you don't look so good. Are you okay?" Grant asked, his voice laced with concern, as Max walked over to lay a gentle hand on Nicholas' shoulder.

Nicholas nodded unconvincingly but didn't say anything.

"Look, if Smith is after your neighbor, I don't think it's because he wants to go on a date," Grant advised.

The dark-haired agent appeared unfazed by his comment, and both Grant and Max noticed. "Is there something you're not telling us, buddy?" the blond asked, squeezing Nicholas' shoulder for emphasis.

Nicholas sighed. He felt his loyalty divided, and he didn't like it. "What you've said makes sense, put it that way," he responded. "I really don't want to say more until I have to."

"I feel like this is something Jim needs to know," Max said gently.

"I don't think there's any way around it, pal," Grant added in the same tone. "NeuroSystems is a dangerous organization."

Nicholas looked up at the Black agent, and his eyes were full of regret. "I'm sorry, Grant," he said sincerely. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"We may not have to tell Jim we ran him," Grant returned. "He's gonna recognize Smith's name." His eyes narrowed. "But this could complicate things with your friend, depending on how Jim wants to play it."

Nicholas nodded his understanding and glanced at his watch. Two thirty p.m. "I'm supposed to pick her up at five," he informed them. He mulled things over in his head for a bit, weighing the pros and cons, until finally he settled on a plan.

"Let me call her," he suggested, "then we'll call Jim."

*******

Diana picked up the telephone on the second ring.

"Hello, this is Diana."

"Hey, it's Nicholas," came the response. "How's it going?"

"So far, so good," she answered. "I've been staying in my office as much as I can. I haven't seen much of him today."

"Good," he returned. "I'm going to need you to keep doing that."

The brunette picked up on his tension through the phone and gripped it a little tighter. "What is it, Nicholas? Did you find out something?"

"I don't want to frighten you, Diana," the dark-haired agent said, in that tone that was somewhere between serious and soothing, "but this contract worker is more dangerous than we thought. You need to do your best to stay out of his way."

Diana bit her lip and nodded, though Nicholas couldn't see her. But she sensed that he wasn't finished.

"There's something else."

Nicholas tried unsuccessfully to mask a sigh. "It turns out that your gift is what puts you at risk," he explained. "My friends and I can help you, but I'm going to have to tell them everything."

"I know." It wasn't a lie. She had known all along that it would come down to this. But the amount of trepidation she'd had when talking to the officers earlier today was proportionate to how much she trusted Nicholas — and, by extension, his friends.

"It's okay, Nicholas. Tell them everything they want to know." A pause. "It means a lot that you asked me first."

Nocholas smiled into the phone. "Thank you," he replied. "I'll see you at five."

********

When Nicholas had finished talking with Diana, he and his two companions placed a call to Jim. The dark-haired agent nervously took the lead.

"Good afternoon, Nicholas," greeted Jim. "I figured you'd be resting up today."

"I wanted to ask you about something," he responded vaguely. "Max and Grant are here with me. Grant said you might know."

Instantly Jim's curiosity was piqued. "What is it?" he asked, his voice slightly tense.

"What do you know about a man named Jeffrey Smith?"

"Jeffrey Smith," Jim repeated thoughtfully. Then, suddenly, it came to him. "You mean Doctor Jeffrey Smith? The NeuroSystems guy?"

"That's what I'm thinking, Jim," confirmed Grant.

"The last time the IMF heard from him, he was in Maryland somewhere. Close to D.C. Why do you ask?"

"He works with my neighbor Diana," Nicholas explained, "and we think he's trying to hurt her."

"He's here?"

"Yes," answered Nicholas, "working at the hospital as a contractor. I've seen him." He shot a look at Grant. "If it's the same person."

"Grant," Jim ordered, "you should be able to pull up his picture from the IM files. Show it to Nicholas and see if it's him." A pause. "If it is, and he's working at a hospital, that spells trouble."

Grant cast Nicholas and Max a knowing glance and waited the appropriate amount of time it would have taken to pull up Smith's credentials if he were doing so for the first time. Then he nodded to Nicholas, and the dark-haired agent spoke.

"That's him."

Jim cursed softly. "What's going on with your neighbor?" he asked, and Nicholas repeated the story he'd told Max and Grant an hour or so before. When he was finished, there was a lengthy pause before the team leader spoke.

"Nicholas, did you read the IM fact sheet on Grant's computer? Do you know what NeuroSystems does?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any idea why Smith would want to target your neighbor specifically?"

Nicholas sighed deeply. "Yes, I do," he answered. Max and Grant riveted their gazes toward their friend, anticipating new information. "She's an empath."

"A what?" cried Max.

"An empath," repeated Nicholas. "Someone who can feel the emotions and energy of others, who can reduce other people's pain by taking it herself."

There was a lengthy, uncomfortable pause before anyone spoke. Grant opened his mouth to deliver a biting comment, but at the last second he thought better of it out of respect for his teammate.

"I've heard of that," he said instead, "but I wasn't sure it was possible."

"Well, whether it's possible or not," Jim said wisely, "doesn't really matter. Given what NeuroSystems does, I'd say that Doctor Smith absolutely thinks so."

"He told her he wants to 'study her brain,'" added Nicholas, "and that 'sooner or later he'll get what he wants'."

"She's in grave danger," Jim declared. "Where is she now?"

"She's at the hospital," Nicholas answered, "but I told her to steer clear of him. She should be safe enough for the moment. I'm supposed to pick her up at five."

"I'm going to place a call to the Secretary," Jim advised. "The IMF has been after Smith and NeuroSystems for a long time, and this may be our best chance to shut them down." Jim paused briefly before continuing. "As long as you're all right with that, Nicholas."

Nicholas smiled. "If it means helping Diana, then I'm good with it, and I'm sure she will be as well."

"Jim," said Max cautiously, with a wary glance at the dark-haired agent, "this would be unprecedented — a mission involving someone not connected to the team, that one of us knows personally. How would we even handle that?"

"I think we have to bring her in," the elder agent replied, without much hesitation. "We need her perspective, and it would be a challenge to try to conduct operations behind her back."

"Then how much do I tell her about who we are?" Nicholas wanted to know.

"Let me talk to the Secretary about that, and I'll get back to you."

Chapter 4

Once Jim had spoken with the Secretary, the team had a preliminary plan in place. Max followed Nicholas to the hospital to pick up Diana, ready to put a tail on Jeffrey Smith once he left work.

But once Diana emerged from the behavioral health unit, she informed Nicholas that she hadn't seen Smith in at least two hours.

The two of them walked to Nicholas' car, which was parked close to the entrance. They each kept a watchful eye on their surroundings, but neither of them spotted the contractor. Once inside, Nicholas took out his tiny communicator and flipped a button.

"Diana hasn't seen Smith since early this afternoon," he reported to both Jim and Max, who was sitting inconspicuously in a blue sedan on the other side of the parking lot. "He's usually lurking around the exit around this time, but there's no sign of him."

Jim pondered this for a moment. He knew there was a chance that Smith could still be inside the building, but the odds that Max would be able to make a positive identification and tail him to wherever he was going, without the help of Diana or Nicholas, were very small.

"All right," the team leader responded, knowing Max was also listening in. "Both of you go on and head this way. I'll see you in a bit."

"Will do."

Nicholas switched off the communicator and put the BMW in gear. As he pulled out of the parking lot, Diana spoke.

"So I assume you're taking me to meet your friends," she reasoned, "and then back to the apartments?"

But Nicholas shook his head. "It'll be safer if the two of us stay at Jim's condo until this gets resolved," he answered. Then, seeing a troubled expression form on her face, he smiled. "Don't worry. There's plenty of room."

"I'm not worried about that," she assured him quietly. "But I can't miss work. There isn't another therapist to cover the days that I'm scheduled. And I need things to wear."

Nicholas activated his communicator a second time. "Jim, Diana needs to grab some things at her apartment," he advised, knowing Max was also listening.

Jim sighed heavily. "All right, but don't take too long."

Nicholas switched it off again without replying. Diana looked at it and smiled.

"Cute gadget," she quipped. "Who are you, James Bond?"

Nicholas flashed her a wide smile. "Something like that," he teased, without elaborating further.

The two rode in silence until they reached the turnoff to the apartment complex. Diana glanced in her side mirror reflexively and saw a blue sedan behind them, taking the same turn.

"Nicholas," she said tensely, "I think we're being followed."

Nicholas glanced in the rear-view mirror and smiled again. "That's just Max," he told her.

"One of your friends?" she asked, and Nicholas nodded.

Then he pulled the BMW into the empty parking spot between his apartment and hers. There was a white sedan on one side of him and a black SUV on the other, so Max had to park some distance away.

Nicholas and Diana got out of the car. Diana readied her key as they approached the front door. Diana inserted it, and paused.

"Something doesn't feel right," she told Nicholas, who was at her back.

"Wait a minute," he cautioned, glancing toward Max, who was jogging toward them. "Let me go first."

When Max was less than fifty feet away, Nicholas stepped forward to switch places with Diana. The moment he emerged from behind her, the front window suddenly shattered and the dark-haired agent collapsed onto the sidewalk.

Max and Diana didn't even have time to register what had happened to Nicholas before the front door opened and Jeffrey Smith lunged toward Diana, intending to grab her arm. Instinctively, Max jerked her back out of the way.

"Hey!" he yelled, and poised to give chase.

Smith had to make a split-second decision between grabbing the girl and making a clean getaway, and he instantly opted for the latter. At the same time, Max heard Diana scream and realized that his teammate was now lying at his feet.

"Nicholas!" he cried out.

As he knelt by the dark-haired agent's side, he was vaguely aware of Jeffrey Smith jumping into the nearby SUV and tearing out of the parking lot. He wanted to follow — oh, how he wanted to follow! — but he couldn't leave his friend.

Max's stomach lurched violently. Nicholas was barely conscious, a dark red stain already spreading across his midsection. His breath was coming in quick, shallow gasps, and Max could tell without checking that his heart was already beating dangerously fast.

With lightning speed, the blond whipped out his handkerchief and applied firm pressure to the source of the dark red stain.

"Hold on, buddy," Max begged softly. "Just hold on." Then he yelled for someone to call 911, not realizing that someone in the apartment complex had already done so.

In the chaos of the moment, Max had all but forgotten about Diana. But now he became aware of her presence, crouching at Nicholas' other side and grasping his hand. She closed her eyes.

Max, assuming she was just providing comfort, returned his focus to his teammate, and to the steady pressure he was applying to the bullet wound.

After a few seconds, he noticed that Nicholas' breathing, rapid and loud in his ears, was becoming quieter. Slower. Deeper. The blond was alarmed at first — did this mean his lungs were failing?

But then he began to pick up on the shallow, quick gasps coming from the brunette sitting at his right; Diana's own breathing was changing almost at the same rate.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

Diana waved him off with her free hand. Her eyes remained closed. "I'm all right," she said between gasps. "Just take care of him."

As Max continued to hold pressure, it seems as if the dark red flow began to slow down, to the point of almost stopping, and Nicholas' body stopped shivering. Again, Max's heart came up in his throat, wondering if despite his efforts Nicholas had lost so much blood that he was now mere moments from death. Where the hell was that ambulance?

Fearfully, Max removed one of his hands from his friend's midsection and placed two trembling fingers on the side of Nicholas' neck. His pulse was slow — but not the slow, erratic rate he'd expect from someone who was dying.

It almost felt… normal.

Something told him to glance over at Diana, and what he saw shocked him. Her eyes were still closed. Her face had turned ghastly pale and she was hyperventilating and shivering violently.

"Diana, what is it?" he demanded.

This time, she did not respond.

Max didn't understand this.. whatever it was.. but he knew it was no coincidence that Diana's current symptoms mirrored the ones that Nicholas had just moments earlier. Instinctively, he realized that the key to what was happening was that she was still holding his hand. He tried to reach over with his free hand and separate the two of them, but Diana gripped tighter.

"Wait," she hissed, through clenched teeth.

Before Max could process anything more, everything happened at once. The sound of sirens in the distance grew louder. Thank God! Then, as Max watched him intently, Nicholas' eyes fluttered, then slowly opened, just as Diana released his hand and fell over on the sidewalk unconscious.

******

"Max." Nicholas" voice was weak, and he moved his arm slightly as if reaching for his friend.

"Don't move, Nick," Max warned, reaching one hand out to restrain him while keeping steady pressure with the other. "Long as you keep still, you'll be okay."

"Diana….?

"She's fine."

Max glanced sideways at Diana, who was still lying motionless a few inches away. In truth, he didn't know her condition, but the last thing he wanted to do right now was worry his friend, or have him look over and spot her himself.

The sirens stopped, and the paramedics started toward them at a rapid clip. If he could just keep Nicholas focused for a few more seconds, he could hand him off to the first responders and then take care of Diana.

"Listen, buddy, the ambulance is here and these guys are gonna take great care of you. Diana and I will meet you at the hospital, all right?"

Nicholas nodded slightly. Max waited until one of the paramedics took over holding pressure before moving out of the way and turning his attention to the still-unconscious Diana.

"Is she all right?" one of the paramedics was asking, crouching near the brunette. Max shot a glance at Nicholas, but to his relief, his friend didn't seem to hear.

"She fainted in all the excitement," the blond said dismissively. "I'm sure she'll be fine. We'll meet you guys at the hospital."

At the medic's nod, Max looped one arm around Diana's neck and the other under her knees and carried her to the blue sedan. He managed to open the passenger door, placed her inside, and closed it again. Then he got in on the driver's side and whipped out his communicator.

"Jim."

"Max, is everything okay?"

"Smith shot Nicholas," Max said succinctly.

"What?" Jim exclaimed, as Grant and Shannon moved closer to their team leader, worry etched on their faces.

"He was waiting in the apartment," the blond agent explained. "Shot him through the window."

Jim cursed loudly.

"How bad?" Grant demanded.

"He's conscious and stable," Max reported, a detail which surprised all three of his teammates. "The ambulance is about to leave with him now."

"What about you and Diana?" Shannon asked quickly.

"We're okay," Max assured her, casting a wary eye at his companion. Her breathing had slowed, some color had returned to her face, and she was no longer shivering. And she was beginning to stir. "I think Diana's in shock. I may have the doctor check her out as well."

"Good idea," Jim agreed. "Smith got away, I take it."

"Yeah," Max answered, a trace of anger in his voice. "I had to take care of Nicholas."

"Of course," the elder agent said sincerely.

"I'll call Todd and let him know what happened," Grant offered. "We'll meet you at the hospital."

"Right," Max acknowledged.

He switched off his communicator and pulled out behind the ambulance as Diana opened her eyes, which grew wide as saucers as soon as she saw Max.

"Take it easy," the blond soothed, remembering that the two of them had not yet been formally introduced. "You're safe. I'm a friend of Nicholas."

"Max," she remembered.

The blond nodded. "Nice to meet you, Diana. How are you feeling?"

"How's Nicholas?" she responded, her voice urgent, rather than answer the question.

"He's going to be fine," Max replied, certain that was the case based on what he'd just witnessed, although he didn't yet have confirmation from the medical professionals. Noting that Diana's face was still pale, he reached over to lay a hand on her left shoulder. "I'm more worried about you at the moment."

She felt the warmth and sincerity in his touch, and it instantly put her at ease. "I'll be okay, Max," she promised, forcing a smile.

"You were out for quite a while," he countered softly, his voice betraying his concern. "I'd feel better if you let the doctors examine you, just to be sure."

"They won't find anything," she said quietly, "not anything physical, at least."

Max gazed at Diana for as long as he dared take his eyes off the road before he spoke again. "What you did back there was incredible," he said in a half-whisper. "You saved him. I don't know how, but you did."

Diana shook her head. "It was almost too much," she disagreed, with a heavy sigh. She didn't remember much about her encounter with Nicholas, but judging by the way she currently felt she knew the load had been extra heavy. She reached for Max's hand and squeezed it fondly. "I couldn't have done it without you there."

Max wasn't sure if she was being truthful or just modest, but hearing her say that felt good and he smiled at her. Then he sobered as they approached the hospital entrance. The ambulance carrying Nicholas had arrived several moments before, and the agent was already inside.

"In a few moments, you're going to meet three more of Nicholas' friends," Max advised. Recalling how fearful she had initially been with him, he added, "Don't be afraid."

Diana nodded. "Thank you, Max."

Max parked the blue sedan and turned off the engine. "Stay put," he ordered gently. Mindful that Jeffrey Smith might be in the area — this was his place of work, after all — he opened the door for his companion and guarded her closely as they went inside.

They paused at the registration window. "Are you sure you don't want them to check you out?" inquired Max.

Diana shook her head. "I'll be all right," she promised. "I just want to see Nicholas."

The receptionist behind the window heard Diana and smiled. "You must be Max and Diana," she said. At Max's nod, she continued. "I was told to tell you that he's asking for you, and once he's settled you can come back and see him."

"Thank you." Max smiled at her, and he and Diana started to sit down when suddenly the door opened and the other three teammates rushed in.

"Max! Thank God you're safe!" Shannon greeted him with a soft hug.

"How's Nicholas?" Jim demanded.

"Stable, from what I can gather," the blond answered. "We haven’t been back there yet."

Max extended his hand toward his companion, who looked only the slightest bit uncomfortable. "This is Nick's neighbor, Diana," he told them. "Diana, this is Jim, Grant, and Shannon."

"Good to meet you," the brunette said sincerely, grasping each of their hands in turn.

"What happened out there, Max?" Grant wanted to know. But before Max could answer, the receptionist spoke again.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt, but Mister Black is ready for visitors."

"Go on," Jim urged. "We'll wait here."

With that, Max laid a hand on Diana's back and the two of them headed back to Nicholas' room.

Chapter 5

Nicholas was lying on his back on the bed with his head and shoulders elevated, looking down at his hands. Diana knocked softly on the open door to announce their presence, and he looked up and smiled softly.

"Hey, buddy." Max returned his smile as he approached Nicholas' left side and laid a hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"It could be worse, or so I'm told," the dark-haired agent quipped. Then he turned to his right where Diana was now standing.

"Hey, there," she whispered, as she reached for his hand. Suddenly, a stabbing pain shot through her stomach, followed by a wave of nausea, so intense that she could feel the color drain from her face. Quickly, she looked away and let go of his hand.

Either Nicholas was still in severe pain, or she was still triggered and overwhelmed — or maybe it was a little bit of both. But whatever the cause, she wasn't able to touch him right now.

But she hadn't looked away in time to completely avoid his piercing gaze.

"Diana?"

"I'm okay," she said hastily, pasting on a poker face before turning back toward her new friend. Then her mouth relaxed into a genuine smile and she nodded affectionately toward Max. "We both are."

"I'm thankful for that." The dark-haired agent's grin looked genuine enough as he gazed back at his blond teammate, though Diana knew that he was probably putting on a brave face, too.

"I don't even remember getting shot," Nicholas told them. "What happened, anyway?"

"When you're stronger, pal," Max promised, squeezing his shoulder, "we'll fill you in. Right now, you need to rest."

"Right now, I've got to get ready for surgery," Nicholas countered. Seeing the fear on his friends' faces, he hastily added, "Don't worry, everything is fine. Somehow, miraculously, the bullet missed all of my major organs. But they still have to take it out."

"When?" Max queried.

"They're prepping the operating room right now."

"Jim, Grant, and Shannon are here," the blond informed him. "I assume you'd like to see them before you go back?"

Nicholas smiled and nodded. "Yes."

"All right." Max gave his friend's shoulder a final squeeze. "We'll go and send them back here." He gazed at Nicholas for a long moment, his heart in his throat. "You be strong, all right?"

"I will, Max. Thanks."

Nicholas turned his attention back to Diana and reached for her hand. She bit her lip, doing her best to focus on his words and not the fresh round of pain that now entered her body.

"Stay with Max and the others, okay? Let them keep you safe. We'll talk later."

Diana nodded. "See you soon," she managed to whisper before following Max out of the room.

Back in the waiting room, Max updated the other three agents, who hastened to the bedside of their wounded teammate. Once they were gone, he gazed at the brunette next to him, his eyes glistening with worry.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, taking a seat and patting the empty chair next to him as an unspoken signal for her to do the same. "Do you need me to get the doctor?"

"No, no, Max, I'll be fine. Really," she lied.

"You look like you're about to collapse," he countered. "I noticed it as soon as you took Nick's hand."

Max's bright blue eyes locked with her emerald green ones and demanded an explanation. Diana hesitated. She didn't want to worry Max further by telling him how much pain she knew Nicholas was in, but she couldn't pretend that her new friend wasn't the reason she was currently in such distress.

When the brunette finally spoke, she chose her words carefully. "I've only recently discovered this ability," she said quietly, "and I'm still getting used to how long it takes my system to process things." She smiled slightly. "I guess I'm still pretty overwhelmed."

"And touching him re-triggered you."

It wasn't exactly the right wording, but it was close enough that Diana knew that Max understood what she meant. She nodded. "Hopefully, I'll feel better by the time he's out of surgery."

*******

For the next two hours, the five of them sat quietly in the surgical waiting room, making small talk if they talked at all, waiting for news about Nicholas.

The dark-haired agent was still in surgery when they heard the ding of the elevator and saw a familiar figure emerge from inside.

"Hey, Todd." Grant stood to greet the officer with a firm handshake.

"Grant, good to see you," Todd replied. "How's Nicholas?"

"Still in surgery, but he's stable," Jim replied.

"How goes the investigation?" asked Max softly, with a fleeting glance at Diana.

"Slowly," Todd replied honestly. "It will take a while for all the forensic testing to come back, and right now we don't have a sample to compare it to. I still need to collect statements from you and Miss McKay, and Nicholas too, though I'm sure it will be a bit before he's able to talk to us."

Todd sighed heavily. "Look, we could take this guy in for questioning now, but we don't have any evidence to hold him and I doubt if he's going to confess. So he'd be right back out on the streets, and once he knows we're onto him he'll be even more dangerous than before."

The officer looked at Diana with a solemn expression. "We know that Smith is after you. Nicholas was just trying to help, and got a bullet in the gut." He shifted his gaze to Max. "And now he's seen you, Max, so you're in danger, too."

Max nodded his understanding, and Todd continued. "I really want to make sure we have enough to put this guy away for a long time, but you guys are going to have to be extra careful in the meantime," he cautioned. "Since he works here at the hospital, we'll put an armed guard on Nicholas' door and we'll step up security around the building. But, obviously, we can't be everywhere."

"We'll keep an eye on them," Grant promised.

The friendly officer nodded and looked at his watch. It was nearly eight p.m. "It's late," he noted. "Can you come down in the morning and give your statements?"

Max looked askance at Diana. "That will be fine," she answered. "I'll just have to call work and let them know I'll be late."

"Good." Todd smiled slightly and rose from his chair. "I'd better get going. Another long day tomorrow. Keep me posted about Nicholas, okay?" With that, the officer bid his goodbyes.

Less than a half hour later, the surgeon emerged to let the team know that everything had gone well. Nicholas had woken up briefly in recovery and was stable, but he needed to rest and would almost certainly sleep for the next few hours. So he sent the five of them home for the evening, promising that their friend would be ready for visitors tomorrow.

Chapter 6

Diana followed Nicholas' advice, and their original plan, and rode back to Jim's condo with Max and the others. She was mostly quiet on the way, for a variety of reasons. It had been an incredibly long day — had it really only been one day? — and these people, though trusted friends of Nicholas, were all strangers to her. Slightly less of a stranger, given the time they'd spent together this afternoon, was Max, whom she also felt a connection to though it was less strong. But when it came down to it, even Nicholas was practically a stranger.

The other reason she was quiet was because she was still trying to purge the intensity of her earlier physiological response and finding the process maddeningly slow going as well as exhausting.

The one time she spoke up was to lament that she still hadn't been able to gather clean clothing to wear to work the next day.

"I don't understand why you can't just take some time off, given the circumstances," Max commented, but his voice held concern rather than contempt.

"I wish I could, Max, but I'm the only therapist on the floor," Diana replied. "Licensing says the patients must have access to therapy on a daily basis. Without it, they would shut down the whole operation."

"But what about your days off? And vacations?" asked Shannon. "Surely there is coverage."

"Of course," Diana answered, "but those are planned and anticipated well ahead of time. It's the last minute changes that leave the higher-ups scrambling for coverage and create a work environment that is very difficult for someone like me to navigate." Diana sighed heavily. "I know this is important, but I'd rather not put myself through that. If I go in late, at least I'm still within protocols."

Shannon smiled warmly at her. "Well, you look to be about my size," she observed. "I have some things I keep at the condo. Business casual?"

"That's perfect." Diana returned her smile. "Thank you."

Then the five of them rode the rest of the way to Jim's condo in silence. As soon as they arrived, Shannon showed Diana her room and helped her pick out some work attire. Then the brunette excused herself for the night.

The four agents gathered in the briefing room, cups of warm tea in hand, for some light conversation before sleeping.

"I'm thankful that Nicholas is doing so well, but I am surprised, considering what happened," Jim was saying.

"He got lucky," Shannon mused, then she smiled at her blond teammate. "And Max did a great job of taking care of him."

But Max was shaking his head. "I can't take the credit."

"But you held pressure on the wound, pal," Grant reminded him. "You bought him time."

"I was doing my best to stop the bleeding," agreed Max, his voice low, "but it wasn't making a difference. The truth is, Nicholas shouldn't even be here. He should have bled out right there on the sidewalk."

The comment took them all by surprise.

"So why didn't he?"

"Diana," Max answered simply, and he explained the sequence of events that had unfolded just a few hours before. "I've never seen anything like it," he finished.

"That's really hard to believe, Max," Grant, ever skeptical, challenged gently.

"I wouldn't have believed it, either, if I hadn't seen it myself," the blond agent responded quietly, not really surprised or offended by Grant's words, "but you all can think what you will. I know what I saw. Nicholas is right about her, Jim, and Smith knows it."

Jim nodded at Max, then smiled softly at Grant. "There are things in this world that no one can explain," he said wisely. "But whether we choose to believe or not, we owe it to her, and to Nicholas, to protect her."

"And to shut NeuroSystems down," added Shannon.

*******

The next morning, Jim placed a call to the surgical intensive care unit to ask about their wounded team member. He was pleased to find out that Nicholas was doing better than expected and hastened to share this information with the others. Then Diana and her four new friends enjoyed a hearty breakfast before moving to the briefing room to plan their day.

"Diana," Jim began, "I know that you've already figured out that the five of us are more than just good friends." At Diana's nod, he continued. "The truth is, we are part of a government organization that works with matters of national and international security."

The brunette smiled and nodded. Normally, she might find such an idea ridiculous, but everything about them and their energy confirmed their credibility. "That makes sense," she said aloud.

"The man you know as Jeffrey Smith is actually a scientist, and our organization has been watching him and his corporation for a long time."

A sudden feeling of fear and foreboding made the hairs on the back of Diana's neck stand up. "Nicholas said he's after me because I'm an empath," she recalled. "Is that true?"

"We think so," Grant replied neutrally. "NeuroSystems studies brain waves, ostensibly to develop cutting-edge medical treatments, but we believe that their motives are much darker."

"There could be any number of reasons why Smith would want to know how a healer empath's brain works," Shannon chimed in, her voice filled with compassion, "and lots of ways he could use that information for evil purposes. The trouble is, we don't know exactly where his corporation is, or what his plans are."

"And you need me to help you find out," Diana concluded.

"Obviously, Jeffrey Smith is a dangerous man, and we'd like to get him off the streets," Jim confirmed, "but it would be great if we could shut down NeuroSystems in the process."

"I'm happy to help," Diana agreed. "What do you need me to do?"

"Well, this morning, you and Max will meet Todd Spencer at the police department to give your statements," Jim advised. "I know the police don't know you are an empath, and I'd rather you keep it that way. They already have plenty to potentially charge Smith for. Anything else would just muddy the waters."

"I understand."

"Meanwhile, we are going to put all the measures in place to arrange an abduction for this afternoon," Grant continued. "Shannon will have clearance to enter the behavioral health floor with you, as an intern. This afternoon, she will dress as you and allow Smith to grab her and hopefully take her to the NeuroSystems lab. We'll be on her trail and shut him down while you and Nicholas are lying low."

"The kidnapping should give the police enough to hold him until the other charges come through," finished Max.

But Diana was frowning.

"I should be the one doing this," she said, in a quiet challenge. "After all, I'm the one he's after."

Max, who was sitting on the couch beside her, laid a warm hand on her shoulder. "You've already been in enough danger, Diana," he answered. "Nicholas would never forgive us if anything happened to you."

"It's different for us," Shannon assured her. "This is our job. Besides, we don't really think I'll be in serious danger. He can't study a badly injured brain."

"All the more reason why it needs to be me," Diana protested.

She smiled faintly at her new friend. "Look, Shannon, I appreciate the fact that you want to do this for me. But this creep has been watching me, probably round the clock, for the past three months. He knows me." She glanced around the room, her eyes meeting each of the other agents' in turn.  "And as good as you all might be, there is no disguise good enough to convince him that Shannon is me. " Her emerald eyes once again met Shannon's. "As soon as he finds out that you don't have the gift, he will have no reason to keep you alive. At least with me, he has that reason."

Diana's piercing gaze next settled on Jim, and her eyes sparkled intensely. "Please, Jim. You know I'm right about this."

Jim sighed. Damn it, she is right, but it doesn't make me feel any better.

"Very well," he relented.

"Nicholas isn't gonna like this," Max warned.

Diana gave her blond friend a half-smile. "So we won't tell him. At least, not until it's over."

A sideways grin crossed Max's lips. "Do you really think you can keep this from him?" he asked. "You've seen how he is."

"No," the brunette replied honestly, "but I'm sure as hell gonna try."

*******

Once briefing was over, the five of them headed out, stopping along the way to drop Max and Diana off at police headquarters before driving on to the hospital to visit wIth Nicholas.

Todd Spencer was waiting for them. He greeted them at the door and took their statements, then escorted them to the apartment complex to walk him through a re-enactment of the events from the day before. If Jeffrey Smith was close by, the police presence must have been enough to keep him from making an appearance.

Once they were finished, Todd gave them a ride to the hospital. Diana stopped by to visit Nicholas before heading upstairs to work. To her pleasant surprise, he had been moved out of intensive care and into a private room.

Nicholas' face lit up when Max and Diana walked past the armed guard and entered his room.

"There they are," he smiled.

Max, as was customary, approached his friend's right side and greeted him with a firm handshake.

"You look a lot better than the last time i saw you, buddy," Max quipped with a wide grin. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good, Max," the dark-haired agent answered. "A little sore, but I suppose that's to be expected."

Shannon rose up from her chair to Nicholas' left and allowed Diana to sit down. She reached out to grasp his left hand in a firm squeeze, holding her breath in anticipation. This time, thankfully, she felt no pain.

"I only have a few moments before I have to go clock in," she told him. "But I had to come by and see you for a bit."

"I'm glad you did."

"I'm glad you're doing well," she returned with a smile.

"Is everyone taking care of you?" Nicholas asked her.

"Everyone's been great," Diana answered sincerely.

"They'd better be," he said teasingly, "or else they'll have to deal with me."

"You're not gonna be dealing with anybody for a while, pal," Grant jibed.

Nicholas sighed heavily in feigned exasperation. "I suppose you're right," he admitted, "least of all Doctor Jeffrey Smith." Nicholas sobered. "I guess you will have to do this one without me. So what's the plan?"

Diana felt a touch of anxiety creep involuntarily up her spine, both at the upcoming mission and the realization that Nicholas wouldn't be close by when it was happening. She did her best to anchor herself and hide her nervousness from the perceptive agent, who was still holding onto her hand.

"I've got to go," she advised him, trying to extricate her hand from his. But Nicholas gripped it even tighter.

"What is it that you're not telling me?" he demanded, his brown eyes shooting daggers at her.

"We're waiting on the results of the forensic testing," Max quickly ad-libbed. "Todd is putting a rush on it. Then, hopefully, he'll be able to help us nail this guy."

That part, at least, was not a lie, Diana thought, and that very factor helped her to relax just a little bit.

Nicholas considered this for what seemed like an eternity, then he nodded. "So who's keeping an eye on Diana?" he asked. "She'll be in danger as long as he's free."

"That's my job today," Shannon told him breezily. "I'm Diana's new 'intern'." She held up the communicator in her palm to show Nicholas and the others.

"I really do have to go now, Nicholas," Diana insisted.

"Be careful," he urged. Then he looked at Shannon and added, "Both of you." And with one last squeeze, he finally let go of Diana's hand.

"I will," she promised, then she and Shannon bid goodbye to the rest of the team and started out of the room. On the way out, Max caught Diana's eye, and the smirk on his face looked a little like I told you so.

Chapter 7

The rest of the team visited with Nicholas for another hour or so, then made up a reason to leave and promised they would be back later that evening.

Once they were out of his room and back inside the Land Rover, Jim sent a signal to Shannon's communicator, knowing she would answer back once she was in a position to do so. A moment later, he heard her voice.

"Jim."

"Any sign of Smith?" the team leader asked.

"Not yet," Shannon responded. "Hopefully he shows up soon."

At almost the same time, Max, sitting behind the steering wheel, caught a glimpse of something familiar. "Jim," he said urgently, "over there."

The elder agent looked in the direction that Max was pointing and saw a stocky figure wearing jeans, a light blue button-up shirt, and a baseball cap. "If I'm not mistaken, that's our guy."

Grant gazed at Max. "You sure?"

"Pretty sure," Max confirmed, though he had only seen him once — and a fleeting glimpse at that.

Jim turned his attention back to the communicator. "Shannon, Max thinks he's spotted him here in the parking lot. Tell Diana to be ready."

"Will do, Jim," Shannon advised, and the connection was broken as the team put the finishing touches on their plan.

*******

Diana looked at the clock on the lower right side of her computer. It was four forty-five. She let out her breath in a huge whoosh.

From the other side of the office, Shannon looked over at her and smiled.

"Nervous?" she asked.

"A little," Diana admitted.

"I understand," Shannon said reassuringly, "but we're not going to let anything happen to you, I promise."

"I believe you," said Diana sincerely.

"Let's make sure your equipment is working."

Shannon rose up from her chair and walked over to Diana. She peered at the tiny heart-shaped pin on her right lapel and took out her communicator. "Grant, how do you read the camera?"

Grant pulled up the feed on his laptop. "I can see and hear you just fine, Shannon."

"And the tracking device?" the female agent asked, referring to the tiny microchip inside the stocking on Diana's right foot.

"Check," replied Grant. "We're standing by."

*******

At exactly five minutes after five, Diana took a deep breath, said goodbye to Shannon, and exited the building through the back entrance. She knew that Jeffrey Smith wouldn't expect her to have her own vehicle back yet, or anyone to pick her up since Nicholas was incapacitated. So she stood still, as if waiting for a taxi.

She recognized the black SUV from the apartment complex, parked on the left side of the lot. She pretended not to notice the stocky figure sneaking up at her left shoulder. And even though she expected Smith to use some sort of immobilizing agent, the chloroform rag that covered her face still took her by surprise. She was unconscious in seconds.

Quickly, Smith picked her up in a fireman's carry. He laid her across the rear seat of the black SUV and popped handcuffs onto her wrists and ankles. Moments later, he squealed out of the parking lot and headed south.

"At last," Smith said to himself. "I'm finally going to find out what's going on in that pretty little brain of yours."

*******

"Here we go," growled Max as they watched the SUV cross the hospital parking lot. A moment later, he gave chase, making sure to stay at least six car lengths behind.

"Have you got her?" Max asked urgently, knowing the tracking device was their fail-safe in case he happened to lose sight of the SUV.

"Relax, pal, I've got her," Grant soothed. "Just try to keep them in sight." He activated his communicator. "Shannon, Smith just grabbed Diana and they're on the move. We'll keep you posted."

"Got it, Grant," acknowledged Shannon, who was monitoring things from inside Diana's office.

The team expected it to be a short trip. It was not.

At mile twenty-five, a subtle change in Diana's breathing indicated that she had woken up, but she remained silent.

At mile forty, Grant activated his communicator once again.

"Jim, Shannon, they've just crossed into San Mateo County."

"Where the hell is this lab?" Max muttered to himself as he continued to drive.

"So they're out of Todd's jurisdiction," Jim mused. "We didn't expect that."

"Shannon, you'd better go ahead and call him," Grant reasoned, "so he can get things rolling."

"Will do," said Shannon. She reached for Diana's phone and called the police department. Todd Spencer answered on the first ring.

"Todd, it's Shannon."

The friendly officer noticed the tension in her voice and immediately grew serious. "What's up?"

"Diana's been abducted."

Todd cursed aloud. "Do we know where they are?"

"Grant and Max are following. They just entered San Mateo County."

"They'd better not be thinking of confronting him," Todd muttered. "He's dangerous."

"They won't interfere unless it's necessary," Shannon assured him, "to save Diana's life. They're just tracking him."

The officer nodded. "I'll get in touch with my colleagues in San Mateo," he promised. "Call me when you have a location."

*******

A few more minutes passed, but then Max saw brake lights appear in the distance. "I think we're here," he hissed.

Max watched Smith's black SUV pull into a large, deserted parking lot with a single dilapidated building. There was no writing on the outside of it, and a heavy metal chain with a padlock secured the door. No wonder nobody knew where it was, he thought.

Smith parked so close to the building that the SUV almost touched the outside. The blond whipped into the busy parking lot beside it, so as not to arouse suspicion, and parked so that Smith was in his line of sight.

With lightning speed, Grant ran the coordinates, and a moment later he had the building's address. After reporting it to Jim and Shannon, he and Max turned their full attention to Smith and Diana.

As they watched, Smith unlocked the chain and removed the padlock. Then he pushed the door until it stayed open, grabbed Diana from the backseat, and carried her inside, closing the door behind them.

Smith put Diana down on the floor, feet first and in a standing position, so he could briefly catch his breath. The brunette rotated her body slightly so the pin camera would pick up the scenery around her.

"What is this place?" she asked.

Max and Grant studied the camera feed. There were several small appliances and monitors and a handful of lights and wires. Most of it looked to be covered with dust — certainly not anything that resembled a reputable scientific establishment.

"Somewhere that's gonna make you famous," Smith said enigmatically, then he picked her up as if carrying a small child and carried her into the adjoining room.

This room was very different.  White.  Pristine.  Spotless.

*******

"Jim," Grant called, his voice tense, "better get the Secretary. I think we've found his lab."

*******

Doctor Smith laid Diana on top of what looked like a hospital bed. He paused to stroke her cheek tenderly, then reached into a plastic box beside him and pulled out several electrodes. One by one, he started peeling off the stickers and affixing them to Diana's scalp.

"What are you planning on doing to me?" she asked, feeling nervous but certain the team was listening in.

"I've been waiting years to meet someone like you," he sneered. "Someone who can use their brain to heal others and take their pain away. Now, I'm finally going to find out exactly how you do it."

"I don't understand," Diana said softly. "Even if you do find out, if you don't have the gift, what good will it do?"

Smith guffawed loudly. "I thought you were smart, Miss Therapist," he said condescendingly. "Well, it turns out I'm smart, too. A Ph.D., in fact. Smart enough to locate that part of your brain that can redirect pain centers, then reverse-engineer that data and build a microchip."

Smith left Diana's side momentarily to retrieve a small square-shaped device with wires sticking out of it. As he attached the wires to the electrodes on Diana's scalp, he continued talking. "Can you imagine? A whole army of soldiers who can keep fighting even when they're injured, because their pain just gets redirected elsewhere. There are a lot of people who will pay a lot of money for something like that."

*******

"Jim, it's what we were afraid of," Grant said urgently into his communicator. "He wants to weaponize his research and sell it to the highest bidder."

"Grant," Max said nervously as he watched Smith attaching the wires to Diana's head, "shouldn't we stop him?"

"Take it easy, Max," the Black agent soothed. "He wants to study her, not harm her."

"Yeah, but what if he doesn't know what the hell he's doing?"

"He's a Ph.D.," Grant reminded his worried and impulsive friend. "He knows."

*******

Once all the wires were attached, Jeffrey Smith took a step back and smiled in satisfaction. "Now, then," he grinned. "Let's see what that pretty brain of yours can do."

He flipped a switch and waited. Then he frowned.

Despite the situation, and in spite of herself, Diana found herself chuckling softly. "Do you really think that's how it works?" she asked. "Because if so, you're not as smart as you think."

Smith's expression was a cross between anger and frustration. "Can't you just…. turn it on?"

"Of course not," she answered. "I don't have any more control over this than you do."

"Well, what if you think of someone?" he suggested. "Like that fool I shot outside your apartment? Would that help?"

His mention of Nicholas triggered an involuntary empathetic response in Diana's brain, which caused the electroencephalograph to record subtle pattern changes and display them on the attached monitor.

He smiled. "Better. But still not good enough. Good thing I am prepared for such an occasion."

Smith disappeared momentarily into a adjoining room, and when he returned Diana sucked in her breath sharply. He was half-carrying, half-dragging a young woman with long, stringy brown hair who looked to be in her early twenties. Her ankles and wrists were cuffed, and she was gagged. She was clearly frightened but could do little more than make whimpering sounds.

"Remind you of anyone?" Smith asked Diana knowingly.

*******

When the young woman came into view, Max gasped and felt his muscles tense.

Beside him, Grant sensed the change in his friend's breathing and wordlessly laid a hand on Max's shoulder.

"Shannon," he spoke into the communicator, "tell Todd there's a second prisoner."

"They need to hurry up," Max growled.

"Easy, pal.  Not much longer," Grant promised.

*******

"Because she reminds me of that little girl you helped down in the emergency room. Don't you remember, Miss Diana?"

Then he paused, as if suddenly remembering. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot! There's something missing!"

Smith reached into the plastic box that had held the electrodes and pulled out a scalpel with a two-inch blade.

*******

"Let's move!"

By the time the words escaped Max's lips, he was already leaping out of the vehicle.

Grant felt he had no choice but to follow, though his ears picked up the sound of sirens — in the distance, but quickly coming closer.

"The cops are here."

"No time," Max tossed back, and he disappeared into the old building with Grant at his heels.

*******

Diana, still cuffed at the wrists and ankles, watched in horror as Jeffrey Smith plunged the scalpel into the young woman's left arm. Her muffled scream of terror caused the bile to rise up in Diana's throat and threaten to choke the life out of her.

She desperately longed to launch herself off the hospital bed and come to the woman's assistance, but she was held fast by the wires attached to her head — wires which were now picking up an active but erratic rhythm.

"Uncuff me!" she begged. "Let me touch her!"

But Smith ignored her, fascinated by the brain waves he was seeing on the screen.

Suddenly, there came the sound of a door being busted through, and in the next instant Smith grabbed his neck and crumpled to the floor.

Max barely took a second to put away his dart gun before turning his attention to Diana, while Grant focused on the young woman on the floor who was screaming in pain.

"You all right?" Max asked Diana urgently as he hastily disconnected the wires from her head.

The therapist nodded. "Get these cuffs off me," she begged. "I need to touch her."

Max rummaged through the unconscious scientist's pockets until he found the handcuff keys. Then he quickly released Diana and tossed the keys to Grant, who followed suit.

"He sliced an artery," the Black agent murmured, tossing the keys aside before grabbing the woman's now-freed left arm a second time. "The bleeding won't stop."

Diana slid off the bed and into the floor beside the bleeding woman, grasping her right hand. "It's all right," she soothed, closing her eyes. "Let me help you."

"What the hell is she doing?" Grant demanded.

"Just keep holding pressure," responded Max knowingly, patting his friend's shoulder, "and watch."

While Max greeted the San Mateo officers at the door and guided them as they took Jeffrey Smith into custody, Grant watched Diana transform before his eyes. Her face lost all trace of color, and her body shivered as she started to hyperventilate. Her eyebrows furrowed as the pain in her arm intensified.

Grant opened his mouth to ask if she was all right, when it suddenly occurred to him that the young woman's condition had also dramatically changed. Her respiration and pulse rate were near normal, and the bleeding in her arm had slowed to a trickle. She had stabilized. The danger had passed.

Grant, Max, and the newly-arrived paramedics all stood by until Diana slowly opened her eyes and smiled down at the young woman. "You'll be okay now," she promised, with a final squeeze of her hand. Max helped her to her feet and they stepped aside to make room for the first responders to prepare her for transport.

"Thank you," the woman said to Diana as the paramedics carried her to the waiting ambulance. Diana smiled and waved at her as she passed.

The moment she was gone, however, Diana's knees buckled and she would have fallen if Max had not caught her.

"Diana!" he hissed, prompting Grant to dash to her other side and offer additional support.

"Let's get her to the ambulance," Max urged, but Diana stopped him.

"No, Max," she pleaded, even though her head was spinning wildly and her stomach was turning somersaults. "Just take me to the car. I'll be okay in a little while. Please."

"Are you sure?" Grant queried, the worry in his voice palpable, and Diana nodded.

The two agents practically carried Diana out to the Land Rover and placed her carefully in the backseat. She lay there, breathing heavily, with her eyes closed.

"I'll stay with her and update the others," Grant offered. "You go finish things up with the police."

Max nodded and stared at Diana for one more second before going back to attend to his task.

Grant longed to offer Diana some sort of physical comfort, not to mention apologize to her for not believing in her gift. He still didn't understand how it worked, but he could no longer deny its veracity— not after what he had just witnessed for himself.

But he hesitated. The intensity she'd just experienced had come as a result of physical contact, and he wasn't about to make things worse right now. So he settled for keeping a close eye on her while he activated his communicator.

"Jim, Shannon, it's over," he reported. "San Mateo just took Smith into custody."

"Is everybody all right?" Jim demanded.

"Max and I are fine," Grant responded. "Diana is…."

The brunette opened her eyes and nodded, her breathing still heavy but improving.

"….getting there."

Jim sighed heavily. "Good work, everyone." He glanced at his watch. "It's pretty late," he remarked. "Nicholas is probably wondering where we all are."

"I'll go talk to him," Shannon promised.

"Thanks, Shannon," said Jim gratefully, and she clicked off as Max came jogging back to the Land Rover and climbed inside. He turned slightly in the driver's seat so that Jim could hear his voice over the communicator.

"We're good to go," he reported. "Officer Simmons from the San Mateo Police will be working this case together with Todd." He looked at Grant. "We won't have to come back here to give our statements. Todd will collect those later." A pause. "Has anyone let Nicholas know?"

"Shannon's on her way to talk to him now," Grant advised.

"Good. As much as I'd like to go see him, I don't think it's a good idea tonight." He nodded toward Diana, who was still half-lying in the seat with her eyes closed, though her breathing and heartbeat had calmed significantly from a few moments before. "It's been a rough evening for all of us."

"Yeah, and besides, he's gonna be upset with us," Grant quipped. "We weren't exactly honest with him about our plans, earlier. I don't think I want to deal with that until I've had a good night's sleep."

"Let's just meet back at the condo," Jim ordered before breaking the connection.

As the Land Rover started to move, Diana opened her eyes and changed positions slightly, so that she could fasten her seat belt. Grant looked at her and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything she reached over and laid a warm hand on his forearm.

"It's okay, Grant, I understand. Thank you both."

And with that, the two agents and their new friend rode back to Jim's condo in silence, all of them too tired for conversation.

Chapter 8

Shannon hesitated at Nicholas' door, whispering something to the armed guard that prompted him to step away from the entrance. She knocked softly, nervously, to announce her presence.

Nicholas looked up, and Shannon knew by the look on his face that all was not well.

"Shannon!" he exclaimed. "It's about time you got here! Where the hell is everybody?"

The dark-haired agent paused and took a deep breath. He hadn't meant to sound angry, not really; he was just worried. It had been over six hours since he'd seen or talked to anyone, and Diana hadn't even come by to visit when she'd clocked out. He blinked and tried again.

"It's late," he observed, in a tone that was less hateful than before. "I expected to see someone before now. I was afraid something had happened."

"Well, technically, something did happen, but everyone's fine and this whole ordeal with Jeffrey Smith is over," Shannon said quietly.

"It's over?" Nicholas repeated, incredulous. Then his eyes darkened. "You guys lied to me," he said, his voice purposefully even. "You said you were waiting for Todd and the forensic testing."

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you the truth, Nicholas," said Shannon sincerely. "We knew you'd worry yourself sick about it, and there was no way to keep you informed while it was happening."

Nicholas pondered this for a moment but said nothing, knowing his colleague was right.

"Like I said, everyone's fine, but you probably won't see the others till tomorrow," she continued. "They ended up tracking the NeuroSystems lab to San Mateo County."

"San Mateo?"

Shannon patted Nicholas' hand fondly. "We'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Get some rest."

"Thanks for letting me know, Shannon," Nicholas replied, his wrath now gone. "Oh, and if anybody was wondering, they're letting me go home tomorrow."

"That's excellent news!" Shannon grinned. "I'll make sure and let the others know." And then she was gone.

*******

The next morning found Diana feeling much better, after having rested well the night before. When she emerged from her bedroom to grab some coffee, it was early enough that Jim was the only one awake.

"Good morning, Diana," he greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good, Jim. Really good. And I have all of you to thank for it."

Jim handed her a steaming mug. She took a careful sip and gave him a half-smile. "Is it really over, or did I dream all that?"

"No, it's really over," Jim assured her. "I expect we'll hear from Officer Spencer sometime today. And Nicholas is being released from the hospital."

Diana broke into a wide grin. "That's wonderful! I can't wait to see him."

"Do you have work today?" Jim asked.

"Nope," she grinned. "I've finally got the day off."

One by one, the other three team members awoke and assembled in the kitchen, where Jim treated them to a hearty breakfast and Diana thanked everyone for their help and friendship.

At midday, Max and Diana rode to the hospital to pick up Nicholas, but they told him he'd have to wait until Todd came to collect everyone's statements later that afternoon to hear about how they had accomplished the mission.

Just before the officer was due to arrive at Jim's condo, the elder agent received a call from the Secretary with information about Jeffrey Smith and NeuroSystems, which he shared with his five companions.

"It seems that back in Maryland, Doctor Jeffrey Smith was suspected of assaulting a young research student who was helping him with his brain-wave studies," Jim reported. "The college agreed to sweep everything under the rug if he dismantled NeuroSystems and disappeared. So he packed what he could of his equipment into the back of his SUV and headed west."

"To San Mateo," deduced Nicholas.

"Yes," Jim confirmed. "He bought that old, abandoned building and put everything from NeuroSystems inside it, not bothering to clean anything up except that one room where he expected to continue his research."

"And where better to find test subjects than at the hospital," mused Grant, with a look of disgust on his face.

"Our local hospital is a big place," reasoned Diana. "Much bigger than San Mateo. Easier for Smith to disappear."

Jim nodded. "And I guess he figured that getting hired as a scientist might send up too many red flags," he added. "He's cross-certified in electricity so that makes sense, too."

"So with Smith behind bars for the foreseeable future," questioned Grant, "does that mean the end of NeuroSystems?"

"As far as we know," affirmed Jim, "though there's always that chance that some other researcher might take up the cause someday."

*******

An hour later, Officer Todd Spencer dropped by Jim's condo to collect statements from everyone — including Nicholas' statement from the shooting that had taken place two days prior. For the first time, the still-recovering agent learned about the plan that the team had orchestrated to take down Doctor Jeffrey Smith.

They also found out that Whitney, the young woman Smith had wounded, was going to make a full recovery.

"After what happened last night, I had our forensic scientist drop everything to run those tests," he informed the team once he'd spoken to everyone. "Smith's fingerprints were all over the device on Diana's car." He gazed at her with a solemn expression. "The canister contained a knockout gas, rigged to deploy once you started the car."

"Which meant he was there in the apartment complex, in the parking lot somewhere, watching me," Diana responded. She shuddered slightly which prompted Nicholas, who was beside her, to put his arm around her shoulders.

"That also explains how he recognized Nicholas," Max inferred, an edginess to his tone, "and why he shot him."

The officer nodded. "I know you saw him at the hospital after we discovered the device," he recalled. "We think he went back to your apartment and waited for you to return. When he saw Nicholas, he shot him to keep him from interfering with his plans to grab you."

"He didn't bank on Max being there, too," reasoned Nicholas. "It scared the hell out of him, and he ran before it occurred to him to take another shot." He smiled fondly at his blond friend. "Thank goodness."

"Did you find any cameras in my apartment?" Diana asked.

"No," Todd replied, "but there was a key on his ring that matched yours. At any rate, he's got a long list of charges and multiple counts of each facing him, so you won't have to worry about him for a long, long time."

The friendly officer stood up and sighed heavily. "Well, I hate to leave so soon, but duty calls."

Diana and all five teammates each took the time to bid him a fond farewell, complete with cordial handshakes and heartfelt thank you's. Jim walked him outside to his patrol car.

"Say, Jim, I just remembered. I found out something else about Jeffrey Smith."

"Oh?" Jim said innocently. "What's that?"

"His lab was rumored to be researching neurological weapons for terroristic purposes," he probed. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Jim remained silent, his mouth turned up into a ghost of a smile, but his eyes twinkled merrily.

Todd had long suspected that there was more to Grant and his friends than he knew about, despite all the previous times they'd worked together, but he was never to figure out what that was. And clearly he wasn't going to tonight, either.

The officer held up his hands, palms up. "Never mind," he said. "I don't even want to know."

Chapter 9

Once Todd left and the team had enjoyed a hearty dinner, Nicholas asked Diana to take a stroll with him in the crisp, early evening air.

"Are you sure you're up to it, Nicholas?" she inquired, her voice laced with concern.

"Hey, the doctor told me to keep moving," Nicholas answered, grinning widely, as they exited the condo. Then, once they were out of earshot, his expression grew serious.

"The truth is, I wanted us to have some time. We haven't really been able to talk since what happened at the apartment."

"About that."

Nicholas looked into Diana's emerald green eyes, and he was taken aback at the sadness — the regret — that he saw there.

"I never should have made you stop," she said softly. "I almost got you killed.'

Nicholas stopped walking and turned to face Diana, reaching out to grasp her hand. "That wasn't something you could have predicted or prevented."

"But I was sure he'd been in my apartment," she protested, her voice still quiet. "I even told you that morning. If I had just stopped to think about it…" Her voice trailed off.

"Don't blame yourself for someone else's evil decisions, Diana," he pleaded gently, giving her hand a squeeze. "I certainly don't."

Once again, the brunette found herself gauging the truth of his words based on the warmth of his fingers against her skin. Once again, she felt nothing but sincerity, and she smiled slightly at him.

"Besides," he continued, resuming his walk but still holding her hand, "you saved my life."

Diana chuckled. "Max and the doctors saved your life, Nicholas," she said dismissively.

"That's not how I heard it."

Diana looked sharply at him. "From who?"

"Everybody. The paramedics. The emergency room doctors. My surgeon." A pause. "And Max."

Once again, Nicholas stopped walking and gently grasped Diana's shoulders, turning them until she was fully facing him. "By all accounts, if you hadn't done…. what you did…. I wouldn't still be here. Thank you."

Diana allowed herself to get caught up in the warmth of Nicholas' strong embrace, though mindful of his still-healing midsection. In that moment, Diana could feel every emotion that was coursing through his body. It was almost overwhelming.

"I meant to ask you," he said, once they'd broken the embrace and resumed their walk, "what'd you think about my friends?" Seeing her face, he quickly added, "It's all right; I won't say anything to them." He paused again. "I'm actually curious as to what kinds of emotions you picked up from everyone."

"Oh," she returned, in a tone that portrayed understanding. "Well, let's see. Jim is the consummate professional, but he keeps things close to the vest," she began. "I never quite figured out if he believed in my gift or not. But even if he didn't, he was always respectful."

At Nicholas' nod, she continued. "Shannon is caring and sweet and helpful and curious. And pretty open-minded about things, I think."

"That sounds like her," Nicholas said affectionately. "Open-minded. Not like Grant, I'm afraid." He frowned slightly. "I hope he didn't hurt your feelings. I know he's a skeptic about things like that."

"Oh, I don't know, Nicholas," Diana winked mischievously. "Maybe he's coming around a bit."

Nicholas looked at her, incredulous. Were they talking about the same man? Then, suddenly, it dawned on him. "The woman at the research lab," Nicholas realized. "He saw you with her."

Diana nodded in confirmation.

"What about Max?" Nicholas asked suddenly.

The mere mention of the blond agent immediately filled Diana's heart with fondness and affection, as she thought about the many times in the past two days that he had demonstrated concern and compassion, physically and with words.

"Things would have turned out very different without Max," she reasoned. "He kept me from being grabbed back at the apartments, and he helped me do what I needed to do to help you after you were shot. I really couldn't have done it without him."

"Max is a good friend," Nicholas smiled fondly. "One of the best I have."

"He certainly cares a lot," Diana agreed. "About people in general, I think." She looked at Nicholas. "And especially about you." Then she sighed heavily. "Maybe that's why I feel this way."

"What do you mean?" asked Nicholas softly.

"Almost as drawn to him as I am to you," she admitted.

Nicholas nodded. This was certainly something he could understand, for he also felt a special bond with his impulsive teammate.

"Max can be a bit of a worrywart at times," he said affectionately. "I guess we kind of have that in common."

You got that right, Diana thought to herself. Aloud she said, "That's why I didn't want to tell you about our plans to shut Jeffrey Smith down last night." A pause. "Are you still angry about that?"

"I was never angry," Nicholas insisted. But Diana's sharp gaze he relented. "Okay, I suppose I was. But I understand now."

Diana suddenly grew quiet, and after a long moment Nicholas squeezed her hand in mild concern.

"Hey, is everything okay?" he asked. "What's bothering you?"

Diana stopped walking once again and stood in front of the dark-haired agent, taking both of his hands in his.

"It's this," she whispered. "How perceptive you are. How caring. How much you worry. How you always seem to know when people are holding something back or feeling a certain way."

Nicholas felt his still-healing stomach come up in his throat. "What about it?" he asked, matching her tone.

"You're a budding empath," Diana told him gently. "I knew it almost as soon as we met. And I think you know it, too."

Nicholas shook his head. "I can't do any of the things I've seen you do," he disagreed. "Least of all heal people."

"Maybe not right now," Diana countered. "But your cognitive empathy — all those things I mentioned — it's very strong. That's how it starts." She gazed into his brown eyes, which were now sparkling. "It's the reason we are inexplicably drawn to one another, Nicholas. And don't tell me you don't feel it."

Nicholas sighed heavily. He knew she was right. He did feel it, had felt it almost since the moment he'd seen her. Not a romantic connection like he felt with Keisha, but something much deeper. Something only a kindred soul would understand.

A connection that he knew without a doubt was the reason he was still here. What other explanation could there be?

"So assuming I do have this….gift," he said hesitatingly, not yet sure what to make of this new information, "how do I take care of it?"

"The emotional weight can be…. overwhelming at times, as you've probably noticed," answered Diana. "You have to learn how to keep yourself grounded and maintain good boundaries." Her face turned a faint shade of crimson. "Unfortunately, I don't think I've mastered that part yet."

"Maybe we could learn together?" Nicholas offered.

"I'd like that," Diana smiled.

"Me too."

Nicholas crooked his left arm and offered it to her, and Diana nestled her right hand in the bend of his elbow. Then the two friends made their way slowly back to Jim's condo.

The End

(c) 2026